The Staying Power
by Stickys1
Summary: A group of teenagers crash land on an island in the south pacific. Together must learn to adapt and try to stay alive and keep each other from going insane. Jackson/OC, Dailey/Nathan, and Melissa/OC.


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**Title:** The Staying Power.

**Fandom:** Flight 29 Down.

**Authors:** _Lynx Larabellows_ and _Stickys1_

**Rating:** Teen for now, possibly Mature in later chapters.

**Characters:** Jackson, Victoria (OFC), Melissa, Scott (OMC), Daley, Nathan, Taylor, Eric, Lex, Pandora (OFC), Abby, and Captain Russell. A few other minor OCs will be mentioned but do not actually appear and are not really important to the storyline. Mostly they are there for background, like parents, siblings, and peers to the main characters.

**Pairings:** Jackson/OFC, Melissa/OMC, Daley/Nathan, suggested Jackson/Melissa and Scott/Victoria, unrequited Taylor/Jackson.

**Disclaimer: **We do not own nor are we affiliated with the creators of this television series. This story was made for entertainment purposes only. No money will be made. However the characters Victoria, Pandora, and Scott belong to us.

**Notes:** We've replaced Ian and Jory with two original characters named Scott and Victoria. Captain Russell and Abby still went to explore the island, taking Scott with them. We're staying pretty close to the beginning of the series in the first two chapters with a few noticeable changes but we're not going in the same direction as the show originally did.

Also, we're trying to keep the overall personalities of each character intact but possibly giving them more depth. Jackson for example – in the television show, he's a good kid from the wrong side of the tracks who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We made him a little bit tougher, because growing up on the streets would have made him wary and disillusioned of the life that Hartwell offered. We wanted to portray him a bit more strongly, as a leader and a young man who is just trying to make it day by day.

_**Plane Layout.**_

_Control Room/Russell._

Eric – Taylor.

Abby – Melissa.

Scott – Nathan.

Daley – Lex.

Victoria – Jackson.

Exit – Baggage.

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**Flight 29 Down**

_Day One_

The gentle island wind breezed over the girl as she gazed out into the ocean. Victoria's life had changed drastically in the last few weeks, so much that she had a hard time keeping up with all of the twists and turns it kept throwing her. It all started when her family decided to move to a small town called Hartwell. It seemed like the perfect new start, a get away from the life they'd had before.

On the fourth day of her new school, a girl with the Student Council had approached her about a two-week trip to a place called Palau, all expenses paid for. Her parents had said it would be good for her and that she could make some new friends. She had reluctantly agreed to the trip, even though it meant two weeks without her cell phone or the comforts of her own bed. If anything else, it would mean two weeks without her annoying kid sister.

The next day she had hunted down Melissa Wu, the girl who had offered her the ride, and agreed to it. The dark-haired Asian girl had smiled brightly and started rattling on about how exciting it was all going to be. Victoria found her cheerful company to be pleasant and a welcomed change to the stares the rest of her peers gave her.

While Victoria wasn't impressed with the plane they were to ride on she had tried to make the best of it. She had never ridden in a plane herself but her aunt Diana had ridden in many planes and had said that the small ones tend to fall out of the sky. She made sure to choose a seat near the exit in the back of the plane and had watched the others enter with curious blue eyes.

A posh looking blond girl had scampered to the front, her expensive flip-flops smacking along the floor, along with a boy with straw colored hair in a woven hat and a brightly painted shirt sporting tropical fish. Melissa and her friend Abby had taken the seat behind them, while a boy named Nathan who sported a wild afro sat behind them. A handsome boy with shaggy brown hair and a boyish smile had winked at her as he passed her on his way to sit next to Nathan. The seat directly in front of her was then claimed by Daley, her brother, a small boy named Lex who couldn't have been more then ten years old, sitting beside her, and finally, a boy who's face was obscured by the hood of his sweatshirt sat beside Victoria in the back just in front of their luggage.

The flight had gone smoothly in the beginning, with everyone joking around with each other and laughing. Victoria spoke with Lex for a while, the shy and self-conscious boy surprisingly intelligent for his age. The boy next to her, whom she learned was named Jackson, made idle conversation momentarily before he'd placed his headphones on and began blasting his ears with rock music, earning himself a disapproving glare from Daley.

Then the unthinkable happened – a storm brought the plane down.

The young woman could honestly say that it had been the most terrifying experience of her life, even topping her mother's car crash a few years prior or the time she'd had to have surgery to place tubes in her ears so she wouldn't go deaf. Her knuckles had turned white as she gripped the armrests, peering out her window with wide, fear filled eyes before she had closed them deathly tight to block out the image of a foreboding unknown island from her mind. When it was over she had decided then and there that her parents were crazy and her aunt was always right.

As she sat now, bare feet covered in soft sand moistened by the ocean, the fact that they were stranded was beginning to sink in. It felt surreal and she wasn't exactly sure how she felt about any of this. Her life had taken a turn, possibly for the worst, but she tried to remain optimistic. The odds of them being found was likely… although according to the pilot, they could literally be anywhere between point _A, California_, and point _B, Palau_.

Victoria thought that the pilot was an incompetent idiot that could shove his 'beachside resort' up his ass. He had taken Abby and the boy with brown hair, Scott, and gone in search of a resort where they're serving drinks out of coconuts and fancy tropical dishes. She knew for a fact that there was no resort back there. Possibly on the north side of the island but judging from what she'd seen when they were in the sky, it would take months to travel the whole island on foot. Going through the center might shorten the journey but it was even more dangerous. Anyone with half a brain could see that – Victoria was firm in the belief that if Russell had half a brain, he certainly wasn't using it.

Also, Daley had made it her mission to get everything settles as it was more then likely that they would be spending the night and no one wanted to sleep on sand. It was already four in the afternoon, according to her watch, but the sun was already reaching towards the horizon. Of course, her watch was set to the time in California. At home, her sister was just now getting off the bus, completely unaware that her sister was now an extra of the show Survivor.

A small pang of sadness struck her at the thought of her family. They probably wouldn't know what happened until sometime tomorrow. She could almost picture the looks of devastation of her parents faces, just as she could picture Lauren rubbing her hands together eagerly at the thought of claimer her big sister's larger room for herself.

Victoria closed her eyes and tilted her face up at the sun, letting it warm her skin. She hoped they would only be stuck here for three days but knew the chances of that happening were slim to none. A more accurate chance of rescue would be maybe a week. Two at the most. _Right?_ They weren't that far off course… right?

A shadow abruptly brushed over her, obscuring her from the sun and successfully snapping out of her thoughts. She looked up at the offending person and was shocked to see a pair of hazel-green eyes looking down at her. It was Jackson. She hadn't been able to see his face before, it being hidden by his hoodie, but she could see it just fine now and it was all she could do not to blush.

_Genetics have certainly been good to him_, she mused with pleased eyes. He had high prominent cheekbones and a fairly tanned completion, his lips were full and a soft shade of pink and his hair was windswept, each strand falling perfectly_ just so,_ a borderline brown with a few golden highlights, most likely from sunlight. If it weren't for the fact that his obviously handsome face held no expression, she would seriously be crushing. He struck her immediately as the brooding type, donning his gray and black cargo pants and black hoodie, his entire demeanor giving off a _don't fuck with me_ vibe that made her a bit wary, despite his good looks.

Although, she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He had been reserved but definitely polite during the plane ride, speaking to both her and Lex for a while before the crash. After all, her cousin had been quite reticent at times but she was much more friendlier and talkative once you got to know her -- especially when it came to video games and certain books or movies. Perhaps he was the same.

"Can I help you?" she asked civilly.

He continued to stare at her for a moment, not rudely but inquisitively. "Here," he said in his soft baritone voice. He extended his hand and offered a hat. She reached up and took it in her hands. It was dark blue with a light green 'H' emblazoned on the cap. "Daley said we should keep our heads covered," he added to her questioning look.

Victoria smiled, fingering the slightly frayed edges, and plopped it on her head, the lip to the side. "What do you think?" she asked roguishly. "Do I look cool now or what?" He remained silent but that didn't deter her. She'd dealt with one-sided conversations before. "Yeah," She nodded to herself. "I thought so too. Although I look dashing in _anything_,"

There was a glint of amusement in his dark eyes and she resisted the impulse to smirk at him. _Ha! He isn't so bad_… she thought to herself. _A little rough around the edges maybe but at least he has a sense of humor. _Just as she was about to continue, a small boy wearing a similar cap walked into view, his head downcast and his shoulders hunched with defeat. It was a pitiful sight and Victoria looked at the boy worriedly.

"You okay, Lex?" she questioned softly.

Lex looked up at her voice, a dejected expression on his face. "No one listens to me," he said sadly.

Victoria smiled gently at him. "I'll listen,"

The boy looked up with hopeful brown eyes. "Really?"

"Really, really," she affirmed, patting the sand next to her. "Pop a squat,"

He blinked in confusion. "Pop a what?"

"Have a seat," she clarified, grinning to herself. Once he was settled she looked at him expectantly. "So, what's wrong?"

"Well…" he began, looking a bit unsure. Like now that he had the attention he wanted, he wasn't sure what to do. Victoria felt her maternal instincts rise at his uncertainty. She placed a soothing hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently, waiting patiently for him to find his words. "I… I've been monitoring the water," he finally said, a small catch of hesitation still there. "The tide keeps rising. I'm ninety percent sure that in ten to twenty minutes, it'll reach the plane."

Victoria frowned for a second before realization hit her. "The tide will pull the plane into the ocean,"

Lex nodded urgently. "Yeah! I've tried to tell them all but… they just ignored me."

At his sad tone, the girl squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "I'll come with you," she said. "And if they wont listen, we'll make them," Victoria rolled to her feet, absently dusting sand loose from her denim shorts. Then she reached down a hand to help the neglected ten-year-old up. Glancing at the silent Jackson, she rose and eyebrow in question. "Shall we go?"

His eyebrow rose to match and reached down to picked up an abandoned stick that he had apparently sharpened into a spear. "Lead the way," he told her, voice gentle and strong at the same time. Victoria felt goose bumps raise and squashed the feeling down ruthlessly and gestured for Lex to lead the way.

_Yes_, she conceded as they began walking. _He is attractive and definitely alluring. But he's not the first hot guy I've ever seen. _With that in mind, she pushed any attraction she might have felt for him firmly into a small space in the back of her mind labeled _will never go there_ and refused to look Jackson's way for the entire trip to the plane where the other were gathered.

Whatever she'd been expecting to find in the camp, it was most definitely not a bunch of squabbling teenagers. Her eyes widened at the sight of them all. What were they trying to do? Make a bad situation even worse by verbally sparring with each other until they began resorting to physical violence? While Victoria would admit to being somewhat violent, especially around her younger sister, this was a group of supposedly mature young adults who were behaving like children. _Hell, Lex is acting more mature then they are and he's only ten!_

Victoria looked at the circle of shouting teens helplessly, not really sure how to break it up. She supposed she could give her best _mom voice _and yell at them to knock it off but teenagers rarely listened to their parents and she doubted it would have much effect. Luckily, she didn't have to do much of anything since Jackson decided to break up the quarrel himself.

Jackson walked past her and Lex calmly and pushed the unaware Nathan out of his way, stabbing the spear into the ground in the center of the fray. They all fell silent in an instant, staring at him with looks of surprise and awe, and above all else, intimidation. He gave them each a level look, succeeding in making them all sweat with fear, before he took a step back and placed his hand on Lex's shoulder as Victoria had done earlier.

"Lex has something to say," he said bluntly. He looked down at the boy. "Go ahead Lex."

"Whoa," Eric stared. "He just spoke!"

Jackson stared at him. Eric kept quiet.

With wide eyes, the ten-year-old boy looked to Victoria for encouragement and she flashed him a big supporting smile. He took a deep breath and began explaining the situation to the others. At first it seemed like they didn't get why it was important which caused Lex to scowl slightly at their ignorance but once they caught on they all agreed that they had to find a way to keep the plane safe, as it was the only thing they really had at the moment.

The tide was rolling in by the minute and Lex began telling them what to do. Victoria thought it was a bit ironic that the person they ignored ended up being the one to order them around. Fate had a funny sense of humor. Victoria mostly ignored what the others were assigned to do and concentrated on her own task -- helping Melissa and Taylor braid vines together into a rope.

Quick and nimble fingers wove the trailing plants together with expert precision and soon they had enough rope fused together to aid them in their endeavor to pull the plane higher onto the beach. They had some rope already tied off next to a long chain at the nose of the aircraft and once Daley finished securing the handmade rope as well, they all got into position, seven pairs of hands gripping their respective riggings.

"On three," Nathan said, preparing to count down.

"No!" Lex interjected. "You have to wait for the tide,"

"Isn't that what we don't want?" Daley asked glancing over her shoulder.

Lex shook his head. "Trust me," His eyes surveyed the water calculatingly. "Now!"

A large wave crashed onto the beach, most of it colliding with the end of the plane. It was then they all understood Lex's reasoning – the momentum of the wave propelled the plane forward and above the sand, as well as making it rise onto the surface of the water. Using it to their advantage, they heaved back on their supports, feet sliding on the shifting sand, their muscles straining at the resistance of the heavy object.

The plane moved slowly at first, inching its way up the beach, then more quickly as they continued to wrench it back until they reached a safer plot of sand, dry and untouched by the ocean. Collective sighs of relief and triumph could be heard and everyone was glad that the deed was done.

Victoria looked at Lex with a grin as she broke away from the celebrating crowd. "Nice job, kiddo,"

"But I didn't do anything," he protested.

"You warned us about it," she reminded him.

"I was too small to help you all pull," he pointed out.

The girl smiled and rolled her eyes. "And yet you still managed to make it easier on us," she said dryly. "Imagine that. You did something without actually doing something." Lex stared at her, mouth agape not particularly sure how to respond to such a statement. "Never try to argue with a Strife," She winked. "We're stubborn and we have a tendency to win."

He sighed in resignation. "I guess it's pointless to say that you're the one who should take the credit, then?"

"Like a broken pencil," she confirmed with a wide grin.

A small commotion of another kind drew their eyes to the tree line where Abby, Scott and Captain Russell emerged. Without even hearing them say it she knew they didn't find anything. She had suspected as much when they had gone off in search earlier just as they all did. Although she had been praying that she was wrong and that they would be sipping a fruity tropical drinks within a few hours.

Victoria sighed sadly and gave Lex a small pat to deter his worried look. He ventured off to be with his sister and she decided to return to what she'd dubbed as _her spot _on the beach, just where a palm tree had strayed a bit further down the sand then the rest. She sat down and leaned against the tree, letting her eyes sweep out into the distance.

"Abby, Scott and Russell are going out again,"

Resisting the urge to shiver as a cold wind brushed over her, Victoria looked up at him. "We should stick together."

Jackson nodded silently. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before sitting down a few feet beside her. "Nathan said the same thing," he told her. "They went anyway."

"People will do what they want, regardless of advice," she quoted despondently, drawing her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them, returning her eyes to the picturesque scene the telltale signs of the sunset created. She sighed unhappily. "What are the others doing?"

"Daley and Lex went off in search of a place to set up camp," Jackson listed in a rounded tone. "I think Nathan said something about starting a fire before dark and Taylor and Eric are lounging on the beach by the plane."

"They seem to think this is a vacation," she noted.

Jackson tilted his head toward her. "Isn't that what it was supposed to be?"

Giving him a dry look, she said, "That was before we crash landed on an island in the south pacific,"

His lips twitched into a half-smirk. "Still, all we're missing is hula dancers,"

Victoria grinned slyly. "I know some belly dance," He eyed her dubiously. "I'm serious," she said. He didn't look convinced and she rolled her eyes, rolling forward on her knees and rising gracefully to her feet. She lifted one hand high above her head while the other rested by her hip, each curving slightly towards her, her knees bent slightly. "This is called Home Pose," she informed him before she closed her eyes.

It felt a bit weird to dance without music so she tried to imagine a familiar beat, counting it off in her head. _One, two, three and…_ her arms went to her sides, bowed inward, and she stepped with her left foot, hip swiveled forward with the step while her chest remained steady and anchored. She stepped back and did the same with her right side. Then she lost herself in a simple and familiar rhythm and felt a strange but welcome sense of calm settle over her being as all of the insistent worries plaguing her mind fell silent.

Returning to Home Pose after the short routine, she opened her eyes and smiled serenely. Jackson was staring at her, his lips parted in something akin to shocked appreciation. What he was appreciative of, she wasn't entirely sure but accepted it as the only praise she would get for showing off one of her best-kept secret talents. She plopped back down in the sand next to him and leaned back on her hands.

"I could teach you," she offered, as the silence grew too long for her liking.

He blinked and raised an eyebrow. "I think I'll pass,"

"Pity," she grinned. "Your hips look perfect for it," She saw him freeze out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you saying I have girly hips?" he asked, voice low and menacing.

Victoria wasn't impressed. "Yes," she said firmly. "Though nowhere as nice as mine,"

Jackson snorted with mirth. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"I'll have you know that my shrink says I'm perfectly sane," she said solemnly, the glint of amusement giving her away. He gave her a look that wasn't exactly a smile but it was close enough. The sound of faint laughter made them look towards the water. Melissa was jumping in and spinning around, giggling with glee and smiling brightly. Victoria looked on with a smile, half tempted to join her if the air wasn't so cool. "Maybe tomorrow," she decided.

"Tomorrow what?"

Nodding in Melissa's direction, she said, "I'll go swimming. We may as well make the most of our time."

"I suppose," he murmured in agreement. Victoria watched him fumble with his pockets for a moment before he extracted a pack of cigarettes and silver lighter. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "What?" he drawled, placing one between his full lips, regarding her with detached eyes. "Gonna say they're bad for my health?"

"No," she denied. "I doubt the opinion of a stranger is worth much. I just don't like them,"

Raising his lighter, he paused in lighting the cigarette with a curious look at her. "Why?"

"Because my grandfather smoked for all his life," the girl said shortly. "He ended up getting lung cancer,"

Jackson sighed and plucked the unlit cigarette from his mouth. "Now you're really trying to make me feel bad," he muttered, putting them both back in the pockets on the side of his leg.

"If it makes you feel any better he's very old and still thinks he's in good enough shape to do yard work,"

"Good for him,"

Victoria smiled, shaking her head. "I'm sure you'll live to a ripe old age despite the cancer-sticks,"

Jackson snorted. "If you say so,"

"I do and you should know that I'm always right."

"You're very confident,"

"I try."

The two fell into a comfortable silence watching the sunset together from the tree she had claimed as hers while the clouds and the ocean shifted to orange and red in the suns wake as it began to vanish beneath the waves in the distance. It was beautiful and romantic and so surreal that she couldn't stand it. They remained until there was only a little light left and already a few stars were beginning to show but it was getting cold out and all Victoria had on was a pair of jean shorts and a tank top and a hat.

As they made their way back to the plane, she frowned upon the gaggle of people. Nathan was furiously rubbing two sticks together like they had done him a personal insult, Daley was sitting on a log with a near panicked expression on her face, Melissa was standing off to the side with a dejected air around her, Lex looking pensive next to her, and Eric and Taylor were standing next to the plane watching the others with their noses upturned at the proceedings.

"What's going on?" she asked Melissa, stepping closer.

Melissa sighed gloomily. "I searched through everything and found the only pack of matches we and I ended up getting them wet after I jumped in the ocean and now Nathan's mad at me and he's trying to build a fire because it's almost dark and Daley sat on damp ground and now her legs are covered with leeches and Lex says that you have to burn them off or else it'll get infected and—"

"Whoa, whoa, Melissa," Victoria placated, grabbing the distraught girl by the shoulders. "Calm down, don't worry. Everything will be fine." Melissa gave her a look that bordered between hope and disbelief but she nodded anyway. "Hey Nathan, why don't you—"

"Look," he bit out, voice lined with anger and annoyance. "I get that you all want to help. But I can do this myself,"

Take aback by the sheer rudeness in his voice, Victoria planted her hands on her hips and gave him an even look. "Fine." If he wanted to try and be the hero and make an ass out of himself, who was she to stop him? He was already doing such a wonderful job.

"Can those things do any damage?" she heard Jackson ask softly.

"No," Lex replied hesitantly. "They're not poisonous. Just bloodthirsty."

Jackson nodded and folded his arms over his chest.

"You're not going to help?" Victoria asked him in a quiet tone so no one would overhear. He smirked and shook his head and it was all she could do not to laugh. Apparently he didn't like Nathan's unwillingness to accept help anymore then she did.

The minutes ticked by tensely and Nathan looked about ready to give up but he stubbornly refused to do so. He finally coerced Eric into taking his place while he began pacing. Daley was pale and had taken to tugging on loose strands of her dark red hair while she tried no to move. Taylor was now examining her nails and Eric had taken to tossing a small rock into the air and catching it. Jackson was still standing there with a blank look on his face and Melissa had finally seemed to calm down enough to stop twiddling her thumbs.

Then the stick broke.

"Damn it!" cried Nathan, taking each piece and throwing them into the trees.

Daley gave him a sharp look. "Language," she said disapprovingly. Nathan sighed in frustration but seemed to finally admit to defeat. He dropped to the ground next to Melissa.

"I'm sorry," the Asian girl said sadly. "This is all my fault."

Nathan shook his head. "No its not," he told her. "It's mine. I thought I knew what I was doing, but obviously I don't," He smiled at her apologetically. "I'm sorry Mel, I didn't mean to go off on you earlier."

"Yeah, real sweet," sniped Daley. "But I'm still getting my blood sucked here,"

Taylor looked at her in disgust. "Ew,"

"So what do we do?" Eric asked them. "It's getting dark and Daley needs a transfusion,"

Jackson sighed and looked at Nathan coolly. "So you ready to listen to someone else now?"

"Yeah," the other admitted.

"Good man," Jackson said approvingly. He reached in his pocket and extracted his lighter, brandishing it in front of their astonished faces, before he knelt in front of the pile of sticks and tinder Nathan had gathered. Flicking the lighter on, he let the flame ignite it before snapping it closed and placing it back in his pocket as he began walking away.

Nathan cringed in embarrassment and Victoria smirked knowingly, rolling her eyes. _That probably bruised his ego…_ As Lex grabbed one of the hot sticks to burn the leeches off, she felt it was time to back away so she didn't have to watch. She didn't really have a strong stomach when it came to that kind of thing.

"That is _so_ incredibly _ick_," she heard Taylor murmur as Lex began.

Slipping away to the pile of bags and supplies, she searched for her backpack. _Of course it just had to have been buried under six other bags…_ she sighed upon finally finding it. Grabbing a large jacket out of her bag, she burrowed in to block out the cool nights breeze. Before she zipped her bag back up, she extracted her diary and a pen then went back to her spot.

_Dear Diary_, she wrote in a curvy, elegant scrawl. _Well today started out as a disaster…_

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**TBC**


End file.
